Chelsea Transfers

[DDA 9,690]

Just now, Atomiswave said:

Last time I was there the city looked so dirty, crap everywhere.

The last post i'll do on this because I don't want to derail the thread... but trust me LDN is overrated. If you want to love in England... the best places are in the countryside. 

[jandomi10 82]

BBC Sport

 

@BBCSport

·

15 h

 

Chelsea are reportedly willing to offer 100m euros (£90.7m) for Atletico Madrid keeper Jan Oblak.

[Strike 7,217]

54 minutes ago, jandomi10 said:

BBC Sport

 

@BBCSport

·

15 h

 

Chelsea are reportedly willing to offer 100m euros (£90.7m) for Atletico Madrid keeper Jan Oblak.

BBC Gossip Column quoting AS story 

[Pizy 18,368]

If we are indeed even after Havertz and the rumors haven't all been bullshit, I wonder what the alternatives are if we can't land him? His profile is pretty damned unique when you think about it. Or would we just say forget it and dump all that money elsewhere, I wonder.

[Jype 6,398]

51 minutes ago, Pizy said:

If we are indeed even after Havertz and the rumors haven't all been bullshit, I wonder what the alternatives are if we can't land him? His profile is pretty damned unique when you think about it. Or would we just say forget it and dump all that money elsewhere, I wonder.

Most likely the latter. If Havertz fails I could maybe see the club going for Benrahma and trying Ziyech through the middle.

Milinkovic-Savic could be an interesting alternative for Havertz. While they're not the exact same type of player, they do have certain similarities. He's even been linked with Chelsea this summer, although reports have been from low-tier sources.

[Atomiswave 6,072]

If Oblak comes which is highly unlikely then forget Kai, cant afford both unless Roman helps out.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,890]

10 hours ago, coolhead23 said:

... why would they, Varane is their Ramos ..

If Varane is their Ramos, then who is Ramos? 🙂

[coolhead23 1,146]

2 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

If Varane is their Ramos, then who is Ramos? 🙂

[jernej93 565]

No need to push for Oblak, we have other issues to solve first. Rather bring some 2nd GK that can push Kepa and can be trusted as a 1st choice if Kepa continuous with his "fiasco". Someone like Pope or Dubravka. I still think Kepa can improve with better defenders in front of him ... confidence works wonders for goalkeepers  

I am interested why are we linked with big money move for Chillwell when Digne is much cheaper and probably better in every aspect of the game?  

 

[ulsterchelsea 3,221]

37 minutes ago, jernej93 said:

No need to push for Oblak, we have other issues to solve first. Rather bring some 2nd GK that can push Kepa and can be trusted as a 1st choice if Kepa continuous with his "fiasco". Someone like Pope or Dubravka. I still think Kepa can improve with better defenders in front of him ... confidence works wonders for goalkeepers  

I am interested why are we linked with big money move for Chillwell when Digne is much cheaper and probably better in every aspect of the game?  

 

Agree completely on both Pope and digne

[Vesper 28,765]

Jude Bellingham: How Dortmund beat Manchester United to another rising star

https://theathletic.com/1928429/2020/07/15/jude-bellingham-borussia-dortmund-transfer-manchester-united-birmingham-city/

Not many were aware of it at the time, but May 16, 2020 brought Borussia Dortmund’s biggest win of the season. They beat local rivals Schalke 4-0 in the first game of the Bundesliga restart but, perhaps more importantly, they also won the race for the signature of one of the game’s most in-demand talents. Jude Bellingham hadn’t yet signed his three-year contract at Dortmund but in the aftermath of the emphatic derby win, they received incontrovertible proof that his mind was now made up. He sent them a photo of himself watching the game on BT Sport at home in the Midlands, wearing a Dortmund shirt.

Dortmund head scout Markus Pilawa and his team had started scouting the midfielder at Birmingham City well over three years ago. But they weren’t the only ones. Bellingham was put on a monthly watchlist by Manchester United as early as August 2017, and assistant manager Mike Phelan personally watched Birmingham’s match against West Bromwich Albion seven months ago. He was impressed. Scouting reports had Bellingham, who turned 17 in June, down as a cross between Dele Alli and Jermaine Jenas. Those of another vintage said he reminded them of Bryan Robson.

Bellingham and his father Mark, a sergeant with West Midlands Police, were long used to such lofty comparisons, as well as to approaches from potential suitors. At 14, Jude visited all the top clubs’ academies but the family’s ambition was very clear. They wanted him to become the youngest player to ever play for Birmingham in the first team: no detours via under-23 sides or loan spells.

Bellingham signs a contract at Birmingham in July 2019. (Photo: @judebellingham via Instagram)

 

Birmingham have lost some good young players and the suggestion is that they could have been managed better — Chem Campbell being a case in point. Sold for a mere £44,000 in 2015, the 17-year-old made his first-team debut for Wolverhampton Wanderers nine months ago. Others, too, have either left the club or not reached their full potential, citing a lack of care and attention.

But Mark Bellingham ensured his son would be looked after properly. Kristjaan Speakman, who last summer was promoted from academy manager to de facto technical director at Birmingham, developed a close relationship with the Bellinghams — whose younger son, Jobe, 15, also plays for the club’s academy — and told managers of Jude’s potential as far back as 2016.

Sources close to the club believe former Birmingham boss Garry Monk felt pressure from the hierarchy to play the elder Bellingham. He included him in first-team training around Christmas in 2018, but Monk was advocating a more gradual introduction during this season. The Athletic understands that the disagreement partially contributed to Monk’s sacking last year. Encouraged by the club, Monk’s successor and former assistant Pep Clotet gave the cultured midfielder a platform to shine.

In the meantime, Dortmund were playing a well-honed long game that had helped them secure the services of “high-potential players” (as sporting director Michael Zorc puts it) and exciting prodigies such as Jadon Sancho, Giovanni Reyna and Erling Haaland. The club regularly reached out to Jude and actively attempted “to turn him into a bit of a BVB supporter”, as one source puts it.

Bellingham was sent shirts and invited on a tour of Signal Iduna Park and the training ground before the winter break. In addition, the club put together a mood video, depicting the sensation of playing in front of the Yellow Wall, Europe’s biggest standing terrace. Dortmund’s emotional appeal was underlined by hard facts: the specially produced clip also detailed the successful transition of Sancho and others to Bundesliga football as teenagers. By February, Dortmund felt reasonably confident that they could convince the youngster that North Rhine-Westphalia was the best place to advance his career.

Their rivals weren’t prepared to give up the hunt, however. Bayern Munich’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and chief scout Marco Neppe met with the Bellingham family to plead the case for the German champions. Closer to home, Manchester City made a tentative approach, and Manchester United were rolling out the red carpet, as well as a couple of stars: Sir Alex Ferguson and Eric Cantona were mobilised to present the club in all its glory during the player’s visit in early March. United’s vice-chairman Ed Woodward and chief negotiator Matt Judge led the negotiations with Mark Bellingham.

United came close to agreeing personal terms with the teenager that day. A deal worth £25 million was lined up with Birmingham, who had earlier quoted United double that sum, somewhat tongue in cheek. Bellingham was still on a scholarship contract and therefore potentially able to walk away before signing for another club. His family and his club, however, had already agreed that Birmingham would be adequately compensated, considering he could soon be worth £100 million if he continues to thrive. Birmingham were believed to have told the EFL they would sell Bellingham this summer to come into line with domestic profit and sustainability rules and avoid further sanctions after the latest investigation into their finances.

In the end, however, the pull of Dortmund — a club that is guaranteed Champions League football and is dedicated to harnessing young talent — proved too strong. United were initially surprised when news of Bellingham’s move broke in Germany earlier this month. “I can’t see why he is making the decision so soon. Imagine if United win the Europa League and FA Cup, qualify for the Champions League — is that not a more attractive option than Borussia Dortmund?” somebody close to the club wondered. Another source insists that Bellingham would have had a chance at making the United first team immediately, not just the under-23s, citing Mason Greenwood and Brandon Williams as evidence from the current campaign. Going back further, the big-money teenager-to-superstar template was set by a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

But the prospect of following in the more contemporary footsteps of Sancho, a player who arrived as a Manchester City academy graduate in 2017 and is set to return to the red half of Manchester for £110 million this summer or for a little less next year, ultimately proved too tempting. “The best way to get into the starting XI at United is to play for Dortmund first,” an international recruitment expert tells The Athletic.

Dortmund are understood to have agreed wages of around €3 million (£2.7 million), more than United were prepared to pay initially. United saw Bellingham as a player for the next 10 years, so had to factor that into the financials at this stage of his career.

Birmingham will receive a transfer fee of £20 million and a sizeable portion of any sell-on fee, The Athletic has been told. There is no release clause in his contract, which will run until 2023 in line with FIFA regulations. Minors cannot sign for more than three years but Dortmund are expected to offer him improved terms and an extension once he turns 18 next June.

Dortmund don’t see him starting straight away but the detailed career plan they have developed does encompass a gradual increase in game time. They’re hopeful that he can establish himself as Axel Witsel’s partner in central midfield by the end of 2020-21. Mo Dahoud and Thomas Delaney are accomplished players, but there is a vacancy for a more technical player to roam between the boxes. There’s excited talk of Bellingham being “the next Ilkay Gundogan” but, if he fulfils his promise, he’ll be even more: England’s second-most exciting foreign-based player and a future role model who’ll pave the way for more Bellinghams to grace the Bundesliga in their formative years.

[NikkiCFC 7,941]

Bargain fee but he wants too much money.

Oblak, Alaba, Rice, Havertz, Werner would be a good window 

Just lately we were linked with Wilson, Arnautovic, Pickford, Barnes... What a change!

[OneMoSalah 8,774]

29 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Bargain fee but he wants to much money.

Oblak, Alaba, Rice, Havertz, Werner would be a good window 

Just lately we were linked with Wilson, Arnautovic, Pickford, Barnes... What a change!

Getting Oblak, Alaba, Rice, Havertz on top of Werner and Ziyech would be great but it is extremely unrealistic imo.

[killer1257 3,282]

Bargain fee but he wants too much money.
Oblak, Alaba, Rice, Havertz, Werner would be a good window 
Just lately we were linked with Wilson, Arnautovic, Pickford, Barnes... What a change!

What does he smoke though? Insane salary

Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk

[blu35_army 551]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

Bargain fee but he wants too much money.

Oblak, Alaba, Rice, Havertz, Werner would be a good window 

Just lately we were linked with Wilson, Arnautovic, Pickford, Barnes... What a change!

holy shit,,€ 400k/week is too much for such a defender. even terry at his prime never earned that much....

[King Kante 1,474]

3 hours ago, blu35_army said:

holy shit,,€ 400k/week is too much for such a defender. even terry at his prime never earned that much....

Especially a defender that relies on pace and will be 30 within two years. Only team that will agree to that is Barca but they have surely got to cut back on wages. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,476]

 

[Special Juan 27,421]

Si Phillips just tweeted that we are offering one or more of Tomori/Zouma/Batshit to WHU for Declan Rice